WHEN Lisa Skelton spotted a handsome stranger on a work Zoom call, she couldn’t help but fancy him.
The 42-year-old mum-of-two – who was married to her partner of 12 years – presumed she’d never meet Richard, 34, in real life because they worked for different companies.
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But a fortnight later, during a work trip away, he walked into the restaurant she was dining in.
The pair hit it off, and just three weeks after seeing Richard in the flesh, she gave up everything to be with him.
Now, a year since they first connected, Lisa and Richard have moved into a caravan together and are celebrating the birth of their first child.
Lisa says: “Zoom calls can be dreary but this was definitely one of the more interesting ones!”
Lisa first eyed up Richard on her laptop screen in August last year.
He was working for a company her employer provided tech support to.
Lisa, who was then living in Glasgow, recalls: “I was working from home and spotted Rich.
“I’d never seen him before because it was my first direct dealing with the company he worked for.
“He caught my eye instantly. I thought he was gorgeous, but that I’d never see him again.”
A chance encounter
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Two weeks later Lisa was asked to go to Richard’s office in Manchester for talks, and the company CEO took her out for dinner.
She says: “We were sitting in the restaurant when Rich walked in.
“I had no idea he was coming and seeing him just took my breath away.
“We all went to the pub after our meal and while our bosses chatted, so did Richard and I.
“I’ve never laughed so much in my life and we couldn’t keep our eyes off each other.”
Lisa confessed her feelings to Richard and was delighted to discover he felt the same.
I had no idea he was coming and seeing him just took my breath away… we couldn’t keep our eyes off each other
Lisa Skelton
The connection was enough for Lisa to ask her husband for a divorce – although she says they were already growing apart.
She explains: “I had been with my husband for 12 years, married for four, and he’d been a brilliant father figure to my two grown-up girls from a previous relationship.
“But I had begun to feel my life resembled groundhog day. When I heard singer Sarah Harding had died, it really hit home that we only get one shot at life.
“I told my husband I wanted to separate. I’d never dreamed of cheating on him.
“I just wanted to be upfront about how I felt. I’d known things needed to change, and Rich was the catalyst.”
A month later Lisa left Scotland to move to England to be with Rich, and started working remotely.
She says her daughters, aged 20 and 21, weren’t overjoyed about her moving away but eventually just wanted their mum to be happy.
Brody
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Lisa, who changed her name by deed poll to take Richard’s surname, had always been adamant she didn’t want another child, but life with a new man changed her mind.
She says: “I started looking at babies and feeling a little broody.
“Rich has a 12-year-old daughter, but I started imagining what it would be like to be a parent again.
“So Rich and I decided to stop contraception and see what happened.”
In January this year the couple bought a caravan home in Cheshire – and just weeks after moving in, Lisa found out she was pregnant.
The couple were blissfully happy, but her pregnancy came to a traumatic end last month when Lisa developed placenta previa at 33 weeks – a condition that can block the birth canal and cause serious bleeding.
Lisa lost 10 liters of blood and had to have an emergency C-section and full hysterectomy to stop the blood flow – which left her life hanging in the balance.
Luckily both she and baby Rory pulled through.
Lisa says: “I’m currently on mat leave and Richard gave up his job to work in a caravan accessories shop – his dream job.
“We are living a much simpler life in our caravan and can’t wait to start traveling the world with Rory in our camper van.
“We plan to get married in Denmark. In just one year my life has changed dramatically and now I feel like I’m really living.
“Rich and I are both stress-free, happy and proof it’s never too late to start again.”
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